No Patsy
by Vol lady
Summary: Jarrod new client murdered his wife's lover in broad daylight on the street. As Jarrod considers his defense, the family worries that newcomer Heath might become the wife's new target for a love interest. They have a lot to learn about Heath. Set a week after the fight at Sample's farm.
1. Chapter 1

No Patsy

1876

"Well," Nick said as he and Heath came in the front door following an evening in town. Jarrod was still up, reading a newspaper in the parlor, balancing it awkwardly because his left arm was still in a sling from the wound he received at the fight at Sample's farm. The women had retired for the night. Nick knew he could talk openly now, but maybe not later. "Big news from Stockton, Big Brother."

Jarrod looked up. "What? Did you and Heath make a killing at the poker table?"

"Not hardly," Heath said and headed for some brandy. "We're both broke."

"No, no," Nick said and took the glass Heath had poured for himself right out of his hand. Heath just calmly poured another as Nick parked himself on the settee with a relaxing sigh. "Mike Grove walked up to Bob Melrose right in front of City Hall at about four o'clock this afternoon, pulled out his gun and shot him dead."

"What?!" Jarrod blurted and put the paper down.

"Just out and out shot him," Nick said.

"Word is that Mike thinks Bob was having an affair with his wife," Heath explained. "He didn't like it."

"Mike Grove is the biggest philanderer in town," Jarrod said.

Nick shrugged. "So? You know Mike – you grew up around him. His things are his things and don't you go messing with them. He's always been that way."

Jarrod frowned and looked at Heath. "When we were in school, Mike popped Nick across the top of his head because Nick picked up a coin Mike had dropped on the floor. Mike is my age, and when he picked on Nick, I had to put my two fists in. I got a lecture from Father about solving problems non-violently for my efforts, but as I recall, Mike got nothing from his father about it. Mike got his attitude directly from his old man."

"Sounds like it's going to be an interesting trial," Heath said. "Lots of dirty laundry."

Jarrod got that thoughtful look in his eye.

Nick said, "Pappy's thinking he's got a new client."

"Oh, maybe, maybe not," Jarrod said. "I was just remembering a case from Washington, just prior to the war. Do you boys know about General Dan Sickles?"

"Lost his leg at Gettysburg," Heath said. "I read about him."

"He pulled this same stunt just before the war, shot his wife's lover in front of the White House," Jarrod said, thinking back about being in Washington during the war and first hearing the story. "He was the biggest rake in town – lovers everywhere, but he went crazy – actually, legally crazy – when this fellow named Key took up with his wife, Theresa. All the men in Washington supported Sickles, thought he was right to defend his honor by killing Key, and Sickles was found not guilty by reason of temporary insanity."

"Temporary insanity?" Heath said.

Jarrod nodded. "He got off. Edwin Stanton was one of his lawyers who came up with his defense. Temporary insanity – it came and went, and he got off and all the men in Washington were thrilled. Until he took his wife back. Then they all got mad. But nobody told Dan Sickles what to do. He was a politician through and through. He just went on doing what he wanted to do, got himself a commission and put in charge of the Third Corps at Gettysburg where he lost his leg to a cannon ball."

"Didn't I hear they have his leg somewhere and he goes to visit it?" Heath asked.

Jarrod chuckled. "That's what they say."

"So, are you thinking you might represent Mike Grove and get him off the same way?" Nick asked.

"No, no," Jarrod said. "It might be interesting, though," he said then, on second thought. "I always thought that defense was pretty bogus, but what if there is something to it? What if a man can essentially go out of his mind over a woman? Should he be entitled to get off a murder charge, or was Sickles just smart enough to have the right clout and get the right lawyers?"

Nick and Heath looked at each other. Heath wasn't all that familiar with it yet, but Jarrod was getting that look in his eye. There was a challenge here, and Jarrod wanted in on it. "Pappy, you might best leave this case alone," Nick said. "This ain't Washington in the 1850s. And you're living in a house with a couple of very – " Nick fumbled for a word – "opinionated women."

Jarrod smiled. "Don't worry, Nick. I know who I live with."

"What would you do if Grove asks you to take his case?" Heath asked.

Two important things in the lives of Jarrod and his family had yet to come up. Korby Kyles had not yet killed Col. Ashby. The difficulty that caused in town and within the Barkley clan when Jarrod represented him, with Heath as a witness against him, was still some time away. Jarrod hadn't taken part in any controversial cases like that one was going to be for a long time. More pertinent, Jarrod had not yet met and married and lost his wife, and confronted his own case of temporary insanity which would be completely and horribly real. At this point, there were no ramifications lurking around town or within the family if Jarrod were to take Grove's case, and the Dan Sickles defense was still completely academic. There was nothing in real life that would prevent Jarrod from defending Grove. Except the possibility of what happened in Washington society with Sickles, happening in Stockton with Grove.

"I don't know," Jarrod said. "I'm not going to go see him and ask him if he wants me to represent him, but if he sent for me and asked – well, I don't know. I suppose I'd have to try the Dan Sickles defense if it was the right thing to do."

"Maybe you best just go back to San Francisco for a while," Nick suggested.

Jarrod laughed. "I've never run away from Mike Grove yet, Nick."

Nick raised his eyebrows at Heath. "You see what kind of family you've gotten yourself into?"

It was Heath's turn to smile. "Nothing about this family surprises me, Nick."

XXXXXXXX

But Heath did get a surprise the next day. He had gone to town with Jarrod when he went into the office, to do some banking errands for the family. After he and Jarrod had parted company and the banking was done, Heath got himself ready to head home, but he stopped short of mounting up when he heard Sheriff Harris call his name.

"Morning, Steve," Heath said as the sheriff came up beside him. "How's it going?"

"About like you'd imagine," the sheriff said. "I've still got Mike Grove in my jail. He gets arraigned later this morning, and he doesn't have a lawyer."

"Jarrod's up in his office," Heath said. "He might do it."

"I'll talk to him, but Grove just saw you out here through the window. He asked if I'd come get you."

"Me?" Heath was definitely surprised. He didn't even know Grove all that well, just over one or two poker games. "What's he want me for?"

"I don't know. Not that I'm running errands for accused killers, but Grove's case is cut and dried and he's gonna hang for sure. I thought I'd do him a favor and see if you'd come over."

Sheriff Harris was new to the job, taking over for Harry Lyman who was killed at Sample's farm. Heath gave him allowances for trying to feel his way. Heath nodded. This might be interesting at least. "All right."

Sheriff Harris led the way over to the jail, and as Heath stepped inside, he saw the cell block door was open and Grove was standing at the bars of his cell, looking out eagerly. Sheriff Harris nodded to Heath that he could go in. Heath handed his pistol over and went inside.

Grove looked uncomfortable, to put it mildly. Heath stood in front of him, still wondering why Grove would want to talk to him when they hardly knew each other, but he was willing to listen. "What can I do for you, Mike?" Heath asked.

"I need a favor," Grove said, very quietly. "I need you to talk to somebody for me."

"Who?" Heath asked.

"My wife."

Heath didn't know Ella Grove any better than he knew Mike. "Why would you want me to talk to your wife? I don't even know her."

"She knows you from church," Grove said. "She's talked to you once or twice."

"That doesn't mean I know her," Heath said. "And what do you want me to talk to her about anyway? I ain't interested in getting into the middle of your marriage."

"She won't talk to me."

"I don't blame her. You killed a man in broad daylight in front of half the town."

Grove started to look ever more anxious. "Heath, I just need you to go to her and get her to come talk to me. Just tell her that you talked to me and I asked you to ask her to talk to me and then walk away. That's all I want."

"The sheriff can do that for you."

"He already has. She won't listen to him. I think she'll listen to you."

"There's no reason for her to listen to me."

"Didn't you hear what I said? She's seen you in church. She likes you. Just ask her to come see me and then walk away."

Heath felt himself beginning to cave. Grove wasn't asking that much, but, "Why don't you get your lawyer to talk to her?"

"I don't have a lawyer."

Heath felt himself buck up again. "Then next you're gonna want me to talk to my brother about being your lawyer."

"Well, yeah."

Heath turned to walk away.

"Heath, come on! I'm gonna hang!" Grove cried after him.

Heath stopped. He never liked seeing any man hang. Sometimes a hanging didn't work right, and a man who was supposed to die in a flash with his neck broken ended up strangling slowly instead. And it sure looked like Mike Grove was going to hang, and probably soon. Heath knew Grove had pushed the right button on him, and he knew Grove knew it.

_Doggone it, I can be a patsy sometimes_, Heath thought.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"All right," Heath ended up saying, "but I better talk to my brother first. If you're being arraigned this morning, you're gonna need him faster than you need your wife."

Grove relaxed visibly. "Thanks, Heath. I really appreciate this."

As Heath walked out and reclaimed his gun, the sheriff said quietly, "Be careful, Heath. You haven't been around here long enough to know how Grove plays people. That's why he's picking on you."

Heath nodded. "Talking to Jarrod can't hurt. He can make up his own mind whether to come over here. And I won't spend but five minutes with Grove's wife. I'll be careful."

Heath left and headed for Jarrod's office, wondering how hard his older brother was going to kick him for getting involved in this. Jarrod's secretary gave him a smile, saying, "Hello, Mr. Barkley. I didn't know you'd be coming in today."

"Neither did I," Heath said. "Is my brother available?"

The inner office door opened, and Jarrod appeared. "I saw you coming from the sheriff's office," he said. "Come on in here."

Heath followed Jarrod into his office, closing the door behind him. As Jarrod sat down behind his desk, he was grumbling, not in a good mood for whatever reason. In a sudden fit, he tore off the sling he was wearing, saying, "I've had enough of this thing." Then he asked, "What were you doing in the sheriff's office?"

Heath sat down in front of it. "Sheriff Harris came up to me in the street and said Mike Grove wanted to see me."

"Why?" Jarrod asked. He didn't sound surly about it, but he did sound suspicious.

"He wanted me to talk to you about being his lawyer."

"Why didn't Steve just come to me?"

"I don't know," Heath said, "except that Grove wants me to talk to his wife, too."

Now Jarrod looked surly. "About what?"

"She won't see him. He thinks I can talk her into it."

"Why you?"

"I've been nice to her at church once or twice."

Jarrod leaned back in his chair, nodding, thinking. "You may be one of only a few. You haven't been around long enough to know they've never been a popular couple. He's notorious – and this isn't the first time a rumor has followed her around either."

"I just plan to go to her and say he wants to see her and walk out," Heath said.

"That may be what you plan to do, but if you're not very careful, you're gonna end up in her clutches, if rumor is true."

Heath nodded, understanding the message. "Do you think you're gonna take his case?"

"I'll talk to him," Jarrod said.

"He's got an arraignment this morning. You'd better get over there soon. I guess there's no question that his wife really was having an affair with the guy Mike shot."

"I don't know if it's a foregone conclusion or not," Jarrod said. "I'll talk to Mike and then if I take the case, I'll have to get to the bottom of it."

"You gonna try that defense Dan Sickles used?"

"If it's appropriate, I'll have to," Jarrod said, although it was clear from the look on his face that he didn't want to.

"Maybe you ought to do what Nick said and go off to San Francisco."

Jarrod chuckled. "I'd be a poor lawyer if I ran away from every case that looked difficult."

"Poor meaning money or poor meaning how you do your job?"

"Both." Jarrod got up. "Why don't you go get a cup of coffee while I go talk to Grove? I'll meet you at the Stockton House café and we can decide if you're going to see Ella Grove or I am."

Heath stood up. "I'm sorry I got you into this, Big Brother."

Jarrod put his hat on and gave Heath's arm a slap. "If it weren't you, it would be Steve coming to get me, so don't worry about that. Worry about how you're going to extricate yourself from Ella if it comes to that."

_I knew I should have just rode on out of town_, Heath thought.

Jarrod just about read his mind. "You're a good man, Heath. I'm not suggesting you stop being one. I'm just suggesting you be very careful, especially around people who are new to you."

Heath nodded again. "I'll remember that."

XXXXXXX

Jarrod listened carefully to Mike Grove's explanation about his shooting Bob Melrose, and it went pretty much like Jarrod expected it to. "I just lost my head," Grove kept saying. "I don't even remember deciding to do it. I just saw him and I lost my head and I shot him and suddenly somebody tackled me and then I'm in here. I just lost my head."

"Forget for a moment that you lost your head," Jarrod said. "How did you decide Bob was having an affair with Ella? Did you see them together? Did she have him in your home? What?"

"I saw him sneaking out of the back of our house, yesterday morning," Grove said. "I had been to my job at the saddle shop, but after an hour or so I had to run back home for a minute – "

"Why?" Jarrod asked quickly.

Grove hesitated.

"Tell me why – straight out," Jarrod said.

"Somebody told me Melrose had been over to my house some mornings," Grove said. "I wanted to check up on Ella."

"Who told you that?" Jarrod asked.

"I don't even remember – somebody in a bar," Grove said. "And I suspicioned anyway."

"Why?"

"Extra coffee cup on the drainboard, red hair on the sofa," Grove said. "I don't have red hair and neither does Ella. Melrose has some. Stuff like that."

"So you went home and saw him sneaking out the back door," Jarrod said. "What did you do then? Did you confront Ella?"

"Yeah, I went inside and we started yelling and she denied he'd ever been in there and I told her I saw him – "

"Did you slap her around a bit? Grab her, shake her, hit her?"

"I hit her, yeah! She was lying to me! She was sleeping around with Bob Melrose and lying to me!"

Jarrod sighed. "Then what did you do?"

"I took a gun and I was out looking for Melrose and I found him and – I guess I shot him."

"You don't remember shooting him?"

"Maybe I do, a little." Grove was beginning to grab at his story.

"You said before that you shot him, like you remember doing it," Jarrod said. "Do you remember pulling the trigger or not?"

"Yeah, I remember it, it's just – foggy," Grove admitted.

"And how did you feel when you did it? Good? Bad? Indifferent?"

Grove looked like he was thinking about it. "I don't know. I just did it."

The cell block door was closed, but Sheriff Harris came in then, saying, "Jarrod, the arraignment is in ten minutes."

Jarrod nodded and headed for the door. "I'll meet you at the courthouse. There's something I have to do first. Mike, I'll represent you for now, but this morning, unless the judge asks you a direct question, you keep your mouth shut. If he asks you anything, you answer honestly. And you plead not guilty, got that?"

Grove nodded, looking relieved. "Yeah. Yeah, thanks, Mr. Barkley."

Jarrod went out, hearing Sheriff Harris saying, "Good luck with this one," as he went out the front door and headed for the café where Heath was waiting for him.

Heath was working on a second cup of coffee when Jarrod sat down with him, declining any coffee from the waitress. "That arraignment is in ten minutes," he said.

"You're gonna take his case?"

"For now," Jarrod said. "We have a lot more talking to do. Heath, you'll have to go see Ella like you said you would. I'm just not going to have the time."

"All right."

"Just do it now and don't hang around over there and be careful. Don't let her rope you into anything."

"She might need something done at the house or something."

Jarrod leveled a stare at his younger brother. "You use your judgment, but just remember, every little chore you do for her is gonna get you in deeper. I can't keep you from doing that. Only you can keep you from doing that. Just watch yourself, all right?"

Heath nodded. "All right."

Jarrod got up and hurried out.

The waitress had overheard and looked down at Heath. "He's right," she said. "I know, you're new around here, you don't know everybody. Just trust me. Trust your brother. Watch out for Ella Grove."

Heath nodded again.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The Groves lived in a small house not far from the river, not the roughest part of town but not the nicest, either. Mike's work at the saddle shop did not allow for much in the way of rent, and Ella was never inclined to do any work such as sewing or cleaning to earn extra money. As he rode up to the house and dismounted, Heath wondered what she was going to do for money now, and the warnings he'd been given about her, by his brother and the sheriff and the waitress, echoed in his head. Ella was going to be on the make for a new man. She was going to have to be.

Heath went up to the front door and knocked. The petite brown-haired woman answered, looking as unhappy as she probably felt, but when she saw it was Heath, she perked up just a little in surprise. "Heath! Come in, come in."

Heath took his hat off and went inside. As she closed the door behind him, Heath said right away, "I can't stay long, Ella. I just came by because Mike asked me to."

"Mike? You saw Mike?"

"Well, he saw me out in the street and he asked me to come talk to him. My brother's gonna represent him."

Ella nodded. "I'm not surprised. I didn't think anybody else around here would do it."

"Mike wanted me to ask you to come see him," Heath said. "He says you won't come."

Ella shook her head. "No, I won't go see him."

Heath started to leave. "Well, that's all I came to say. Except I am sorry about all this."

"Heath, please don't go yet," Ella said quickly and kept herself between Heath and the door. "Stay and have a cup of coffee at least. Something. I've been so torn up by all this – " And she started to cry.

_Oh, damn it_, Heath thought. And he thought he was being played, but those tears looked real, not fake. And he was nothing if not a gentleman. He wasn't going to just walk out without saying anything at all. "I can't stay, Ella," he said. "I have to get back to work. Don't you have a sister or somebody you can stay with?"

Ella shook her head. "All I have is a cousin back east, and I haven't seen her in five years. Oh, please, Heath, just – sit down for a minute. Tell me how Mike is."

"Isn't it kind of over between you two? If you won't see him – "

"Maybe I'll see him, I don't know," Ella said. "I just don't know what to do, Heath. I mean – he killed Bob right in front of everybody, and he's going to hang and I don't know how I'm gonna take care of myself – "

The tears got worse, and Ella leaned into Heath's arms. He fumbled for a moment, not wanting to hold her, wanting to push her away, but how do you push away someone in the trouble she was in? Maybe it was partly her own doing, but he didn't want to get any deeper into that. For the moment, he didn't know what to do but stand there with her up against him. "Look," he finally said, "why don't you let me take you on over to the jail and you talk to Mike?"

"It is over, Heath," Ella said into his chest. "It was already over. He was with every woman he could whenever he could, every woman but me, and when Bob started paying me attention I couldn't turn him away. I needed somebody, and now he's dead and Mike killed him and I don't know what to do – "

Heath couldn't help but feel for her, even as he reminded himself she could be playing him. But what if she wasn't? It was likely she wasn't completely playing him. It was likely she really felt the way she said, and it was true, Mike had been unfaithful over and over again. Heath was torn. He couldn't let her get to him, and yet he couldn't just walk out the door like he said he was going to.

He led her over to the sofa and sat down with her. He said, "I'm gonna get you a glass of water."

Heath untangled himself from her arms, got up and went to the little kitchen area. He found a glass on the drainboard and brought some water back to Ella on the sofa. He sat down, gave her the glass, and watched her drink.

"Better?" he asked.

Ella nodded and put the glass down on the little table beside the sofa. "I'm sorry for falling apart like that. It just came up on me and I couldn't stop it."

"Ella, I can't stay, but I'll walk you up to the jail to see Mike if you want to go," Heath said.

She looked up at him, tears still gathered in her eyes, and she shook her head. "No. No, you go on. I'll go up there myself if I decide to go see him."

Heath got up, intending to head for the door. If he were going to be polite, he'd have asked if there were anything else he could do, but he held back on that. He just said, "My brother Jarrod is gonna be his lawyer. The arraignment ought to be over by now. If you want to see Mike or see Jarrod, you just go on up there."

Ella nodded. "Thank you, Heath."

Heath nodded and got out of there as fast as he could. He didn't feel entirely good about doing that. She was still crying, and he was leaving her absolutely alone. There was something inside that always dug at him, when he saw a woman like that. Just leaving wasn't what a gentleman should do, but he did it. He mounted up and rode away –

And he never noticed another man a few houses down who watched him go.

XXXXXXXX

"I'd ask you what you're gonna do with him, but I know you can't answer," Sheriff Harris said to Jarrod. "You just look really tied up in knots."

Jarrod had seen Grove through his arraignment. A trial had been set to start in one week. Jarrod returned with Grove to the jail and had another long talk with him, and half kicked himself for taking this case, but no one else would. Jarrod firmly believed that every accused person deserved a lawyer, no matter what, so he stopped the half-kicking. Now, after leaving Grove in the cell block, he was talking to the sheriff and frowning. "Well, you know, lawyers are used to being tied up in knots and having to keep their mouths shut about it," Jarrod said. "Do you have the names of the witnesses who saw the shooting?"

"I wrote them down – here," the sheriff said and gave Jarrod a list. "Pierson is the one who pulled Grove down first."

Jarrod had the unhappy feeling that he knew what Pierson and three others on the list were going to say – that Grove was like a madman out there when he shot Melrose. That was exactly what was going to be the toughest to deal with. Grove a madman, but mad enough to be considered insane? And then what? What if the Sickles defense worked and Grove got off? Was that really justice?

What was bothering Jarrod the most was the deep down nasty feeling that he didn't want to get his client off, but he was going to have to do his best to do that. He just had to keep reminding himself that he was an advocate, not the judge and not the jury. Sometimes that was really hard to remember. For a moment he thought again that it would have lifted his own spirits to just walk away from this case – but no, it wouldn't. What if Grove legitimately and legally did lose his mind, temporarily? It was an honest defense, and even if he didn't like it, Jarrod knew it would have to be available and he'd have to use it. And nobody else in town was interested in taking Grove's case. He put the second guessing himself aside again.

But then he started wondering about what evidence he'd have to come up with to show a Sickles defense. The doctor? No doctor had seen Grove while he was theoretically "insane." Dr. Merar might be able to testify how the man was now, but that wasn't the point. The point was then. That left Pierson and the other men on this list, and Jarrod knew he couldn't guide them in saying Grove was acting like a madman or not. And he knew that whatever they said, they would not know they might be helping Grove get off.

And Jarrod couldn't tell any of this to anyone, especially not the sheriff who would be testifying for the prosecution. He was stuck with this in his own soul. No wonder Sheriff Harris said he looked like he was tied up in knots. "I'll go find Pierson and talk to him first," was all Jarrod said, pocketing the list.

Jarrod left and began looking for Ben Pierson. He was one of the clerks at the courthouse, so he wasn't hard to find, but talking to him right now while he was working was going to be a problem. Jarrod found him, asked if he could see him at the end of his workday. "Sure," Pierson said, "but you're not gonna like what I tell you. I saw your client just shoot Bob Melrose down, and he was practically foaming at the mouth when he did it."

Jarrod sighed, took the notepad and pencil he always carried out of his breast pocket and jotted down Pierson's exact words. "Let's just talk some more later, Ben," Jarrod said. "I'll come by here at closing time. I'll buy you a beer after we talk."

Pierson nodded. He was single, had no reason to hurry home, and would not pass up a beer.

Jarrod tracked down the other three men on the sheriff's list. One also worked at the courthouse, and he said pretty much what Pierson had said. The other two – one who worked at the bank and the other at the mercantile – hadn't actually seen the shooting, just the aftermath as Pierson grabbed Grove and disarmed him. Jarrod jotted down lots of notes, got a late lunch, then went back to his office.

There was some information about the Sickles trial in one of his lawbooks, a tome called Corpus Juris. Jarrod read it over carefully to decide what to do with that potential defense, but it wasn't as helpful as he'd hoped. Dan Sickles had been a man with money and connections and several very good lawyers in a city that was the seat of government. Jarrod was defending a saddle shop clerk in a small town in California. The evidence the Sickles team assembled was not going to be available to him.

And frankly, he wished he knew if he really wanted it to be. He turned in his chair and looked out the window, thinking, wondering. He knew he had to use the Sickles defense, and he knew he didn't want to. For the first time in his career, he was nervous about getting a defendant off, both because of his inherent judgment that the Sickles defense was bogus, and because he was reluctant to unleash a man like Grove back out onto the public. But to do his job, he had to do it well, and he had to use the tools and defenses that were legally available to him.

And in this case, that stunk.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Nick had asked how Heath's trip to town went when Heath got back to work, but Heath hadn't mentioned talking to Grove or his wife or even Jarrod. It wasn't until just before dinner, as the family was preparing to go into the dining room, that Jarrod finally came in and inadvertently spilled the beans. The first thing he asked, as soon as he had taken his hat and gunbelt to the hall, was, "How did your talk with Ella go, Heath?"

And eyebrows went up as everyone looked Heath's way. Jarrod understood right away that Heath hadn't said a word to anyone about it. Heath just said, "A little messy, but I delivered Mike's message and got out of there."

"You saw Mike Grove's wife?" Nick asked. "And you didn't mention it?"

Heath nodded. "It wasn't much, Nick. The sheriff said Mike wanted to talk to me, he asked me to ask Jarrod to be his lawyer and to ask his wife if she'd come see him, because she didn't want to. I just went to see her and told her that."

Now the eyes shifted to Jarrod. "So you're taking Grove's case?" Victoria asked.

Jarrod nodded.

"Did Ella go see him?" Heath asked.

Jarrod shook his head. "Not that I know of."

Nick asked, "Are you gonna try that Dan Sickles defense?"

Jarrod shook his head again. "I can't talk about that, Nick."

"What's a Dan Sickles defense?" Audra asked.

"Temporary insanity," Nick said, derisively. "If it works, Mike Grove would walk away even though eyewitnesses saw him kill Bob Melrose."

"Well, that isn't right!" Audra said.

Jarrod put his arm around his sister and headed her toward the dining room. "Let's not get into this tonight," he said. "I can't talk about it and the trial doesn't start until next week."

"Then let's talk about you and Ella Grove," Nick said to Heath as they all headed to the dining room.

"There's nothing to talk about," Heath said. "I gave her Mike's message and left."

"And that's the end of it?" Victoria asked.

"As far as I'm concerned," Heath said.

"I'll bet it's not the end of it as far as Ella Grove is concerned," Audra said as they all sat down at the table.

"What makes you say that?" Victoria asked.

"Because I've seen the way she looks at men," Audra said. "I've seen the way she looks at Heath at church on Sunday. If Mike's in jail and out of the picture, she's going to be looking again."

"And Bob Melrose is out of the picture, too," Nick said.

They took a break to give the blessing, and then Nick was right back into it.

"You'd better steer clear of that woman, Heath," Nick said. "She's not good at being on her own, and if she's got you in her sights – "

"I'm not in her sights," Heath said. "If I was, why would Mike ask me to go see her?"

"He doesn't come to church," Audra said. "He hasn't seen how she looks at you."

Jarrod listened, not talking or asking questions, just taking it all in. Victoria noticed that and eyed him. "What do you think, Jarrod?" she asked.

"Heath knows what I think," Jarrod said. "He'd better be careful."

"Listen," Heath said, beginning to get impatient, "there's nothing to worry about. I'm done with Ella Grove. If she wants to sink hooks into somebody, it's not gonna be me."

"She'd better not sink her hooks into you," Audra said, "or I'm gonna – "

"No!" Jarrod said before anyone else could. "You're not gonna! Two people from this family caught up in this Grove family disaster is enough! You stay out of it!"

"I can handle myself, Audra," Heath said.

"Heath, you're a kind man," Audra said, "and she'll try to take advantage of that."

"She won't succeed," Heath said.

"Let's hope not," Nick grumbled.

Heath said, "Don't worry. It'll be fine."

XXXXXXX

Jarrod read up on what he could about the Dan Sickles case, but there just wasn't much for him to read. Getting in touch with Sickles's attorneys wasn't viable – Edwin Stanton was dead, and there wouldn't have been time to contact any of the others anyway even if they were still alive. Jarrod was left with a sketchy idea of what he'd have to prove, and a lot of doubt about whether he should even try it.

His only real option was to go to the Insane Asylum of the State of California at Stockton, a place he loathed resorting to. It was not known for its legal or medical ethics. Problems among the administrators had been common over the years. The time would come that a corrupt judge would even have Victoria incarcerated there, but that hadn't happened yet. If it had, Jarrod might have steered completely clear of the place, but as it was, talking to one of the doctors there was his only real resort. No one else around could help him with the concept of temporary insanity.

"No such thing," Dr. Benbow said flat out when Jarrod came to his office and told him why he was there.

"Do you know about the Dan Sickles case?" Jarrod asked.

"I read about it," Dr. Benbow said. He was a man in his 40s and had been working here or in other asylums for many years. He'd never had a whiff of scandal about him personally and was someone Jarrod at least thought he could trust. "It was a political stunt that worked. Sickles had pull and he used it. I'm not saying that such a thing might not happen if a man has suffered a head injury or something like that, but finding out his wife is having an affair is not going to drive a man legally insane just long enough to kill her lover, and then he's going to miraculously get well again. I just don't buy it."

"Nevertheless, it is a legal defense now and if I think it's appropriate for my client, I'll have to use it," Jarrod said.

"What do you want me to do? Examine your client and see what I think? You already know what I think."

"Is there any possibility at all – short of a head injury – that a man could just go out of his mind with jealousy and be incompetent to control himself? Men get angry and kill too often – believe me, I know – but is it possible that there's a line that some men cross but most men don't? Something that would make a man unable to stop himself from committing violence?"

Dr. Benbow took a deep breath and gave a deep sigh. "I suppose it's possible if you couple it with a man being so upset he doesn't sleep right or eat right for days – something that affects him physically. But that wasn't the case with Dan Sickles, and from what I hear, it's not the case with Mike Grove. There were no head injuries, no days of poor sleeping and eating. They just found out they were cheated on and went out and killed their wives' lovers. That's not insanity, Jarrod, temporary or otherwise. That's just criminal behavior."

Jarrod sat back, nodding, thinking. "Would you consider seeing Mike Grove in jail and talking to him? Whatever you decide after you talk to him will help me decide what I need to do."

"This Sickles defense thing is legitimate in the legal world, isn't it?"

"It is," Jarrod said. "I'm ethically bound to use it if it's appropriate."

"And you need me to cover your butt if you decide not to use it."

"I need to be able to tell myself that I looked into every possible defense my client might have, and on this one, yes, I need your help."

Dr. Benbow sighed again. "All right. I can go by the jail this afternoon. Just tell the sheriff I'm coming, but don't tell Grove. I don't want him to know I'm coming to evaluate him. I don't want to give him time to make up an act."

"I appreciate this, Andrew," Jarrod said and got up, reaching a hand out. "But don't go thinking I want you to find one way or another. Just give me your honest opinion and I'll work with it."

Dr. Benbow stood and shook Jarrod's hand. "Understood."

Jarrod was in his office later that afternoon when Dr. Benbow came by. Jarrod invited him into his inner office and offered him a drink, but the doctor passed it up. "Did you see Grove?" Jarrod asked as he sat down behind his desk.

Dr. Benbow sat down in front of it, nodding. "I'm not sure I'm going to be helping you much with it, though."

"How do you mean?"

"Well, Grove is pretty frantic, as you can imagine. I told him I was there to see how he was, at your request. And frankly, Jarrod, he was very uneven. Frantic and frightened, but when we talked about the shooting he grew dark and angry, even vicious – and then when I changed the subject, he was back to being more afraid than angry. I tried that back and forth a couple times, and each time his demeanor completely changed when he talked about the shooting."

"What are you telling me?" Jarrod asked. "Do you think he really could have some sort of temporary insanity going on?"

"I don't know," Dr. Benbow said. "I couldn't testify one way or the other, so I wouldn't do you any good in court. But if you're looking for something to let you off the hook of having to even use the defense, I'm not sure I can give that to you either. I can't say he was temporarily insane when he shot that man, but I can't say he wasn't, either. I'm sorry. You're just going to have to use your own judgment based on what I just said."

"How about permanent insanity?"

Dr. Benbow quickly shook his head. "No. No."

Jarrod sighed and nodded. "Can you write me a report to that effect? I'll want something in the file to back up whatever I decide to do."

Dr. Benbow stood up to leave. "I'll have it to you tomorrow."

Jarrod stood up and offered his hand. "Thanks for your frankness, Andrew. It does help, even though it doesn't seem like it does."

"Sorry I couldn't have been more definitive."

"Just to be sure – you don't think he was putting on any kind of act for you, do you?"

"No, I don't think he was," Dr. Benbow said. "I'll note that in the report, too."

Jarrod nodded his thanks, and Dr. Benbow went out – leaving Jarrod exactly where he was to begin with. He was no closer to a decision on whether to use the Sickles defense or not. If he did, he had no medical evidence to back him up. If he didn't, he had evidence that would say he should have tried it anyway. Jarrod groaned. _I'm gonna hate this trial._


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Sunday came with a barrage of gasps, gossiping, pity and horror. Ella Grove had come to church, alone, and she was as shunned as shunned could get. The Barkleys got an earful from every direction.

_How dare she come to church? She's the reason Bob Melrose is dead. Mike Grove just took as much as he could take. She was fooling around as much as he was._

But also –

_All those other women Mike was with – no wonder she looked for somebody else. How in the world did she put up with that man for so long? At least now she'll have a chance to start over._

Jarrod and Heath spent a lot of time looking at each other, digesting what they were hearing. No one came up to either one of them directly, but they could tell it was intended that at least Jarrod overheard what was being said. Everyone knew he'd be defending Mike Grove. Everybody wanted him to know what they thought, without telling him directly.

Heath, on the other hand, kept trying to walk away from the talk and from Ella. He noticed that people were starting to see that he was the only one she was even trying to make eye contact with.

_She's got Heath Barkley in her sights now. That's been obvious since the boy got here. She's going to slip him right into Bob Melrose's place._

Heath overheard that kind of talk whether he was intended to or not. He was still so new around here that people were still feeling him out, and this was more feeling him out. People giving him advice without giving him advice. People trying to decide if he was the type of man who would take up with Ella happily even before they hanged Mike Grove. People trying to decide if he had Barkley morals or not.

The other Barkleys knew what was going on, too. With Jarrod and Heath being the most directly affected, they made sure to come close when it looked like either one of them needed support and protection from the good church-going folk of Stockton. When they finally gathered up and were safely at home, it was Audra who first voiced what they were all thinking as soon as the front door closed.

"Well, if that didn't embarrass the good people of Stockton, there is something dreadfully wrong," she said straight out as she took off her hat.

"Don't be too hard on them," Victoria said. "People are people, and what happened with the Groves is the biggest thing to hit town since – " She stopped.

"Since I did," Heath completed the thought.

Victoria had to nod.

Jarrod put a hand on Heath's shoulder. "Don't give them another thought, Heath. They're still getting to know you, but they think they already know Mike and Ella Grove. They're just trying to fit you into the slot they think you belong in."

"Hypocritical gossips is what they are," Nick put in. "They've always spent a big chunk of Sunday morning judging everybody around them."

"Then why do you go to that church?" Heath asked.

"Because Reverend Johnson is a good man," Victoria said. "He's doing his best to get people to live a better Christian life, and he's had some success. People are not nearly as judgmental as they used to be. It's just right now, the Groves are too hot a topic for people to resist."

"We've actually talked about it before," Audra said, "and we've decided we want to keep going to church to support the reverend."

Heath nodded. "I can understand that. It just hasn't been much fun being the center of everybody's curiosity."

"It happens to me every time I take a sticky case, Heath," Jarrod said. "They'll let you go as soon as they figure you out. Give it a few months and they won't be sorting you out anymore."

"But you get it all over again whenever a hard case comes up," Heath said.

Jarrod chuckled. "I'm used to it."

"Remind me to tell you about the time Mrs. Stone threw a bible at him," Nick said.

Heath was shocked when everyone laughed.

"I was defending a woman who had been accused of beating her daughter," Jarrod said. "She didn't do it – her husband did. But Mrs. Stone never liked my client and therefore she didn't like me. Heaved a good-sized bible right at my head in the middle of the congregation. Mrs. Stone was 70 years old and beginning to lose control of herself. She died a few months later and all her odd behavior was forgiven, at least by us."

Heath shook his head. "This case is gonna be tough for you."

"And for you if Ella gets hold of you," Nick said.

"So you've warned me," Heath said.

Nick said, "Did you get a look at how she was looking at you today? You were the only one she had eyes for."

"I saw," Heath said, "and that's why I stayed away from her."

"Keep staying away from her," Jarrod said, "for me, if not for yourself. If you get messed up in this case of mine, we're both gonna regret it."

"You don't think that could possibly happen, do you?" Victoria asked.

"I don't know what to expect out of this case," Jarrod said. "Mike and Ella are unpredictable people, and volatile. If Heath is anywhere around Ella, he could be pulled into the thick of things through no fault of his own."

"Maybe you should stay out of town until the trial is over," Audra said.

"No," Nick said.

And Jarrod echoed it. "No, that will just draw attention, not deflect it. Act normally, Heath. Just don't let Ella get too close."

Heath nodded. "That's what I'm planning to do."

"And let me know if Ella becomes a problem for you," Jarrod said.

Heath nodded again. "How long do you think this trial will take?"

"I don't know," Jarrod said. "I'll have to get back to town after lunch and figure out exactly what I'm going to do."

"Why don't you just plead Grove guilty?" Nick said. "Witnesses saw him do it."

"It might not be that simple," Jarrod said. "I just don't know yet."

"Well, you better know soon. The trial starts tomorrow."

Jarrod nodded. "And I'll have to make up my mind today what I'm gonna recommend to Mike."

It was Heath's turn to put a hand on Jarrod's shoulder. "I'll stay out of the way as best I can until this thing is over."

"And beyond," Jarrod said. "You need to watch out for Ella permanently – or until she leaves town."

Heath nodded. "I know."

XXXXXX

Back in his office a couple hours later, Jarrod went over Dr. Benbow's report one more time, and still found no real direction from it. The only thing that seemed clear was that Dr. Benbow would not agree to be a witness for either the prosecution or the defense. He would not testify that Grove was or was not temporarily insane when he shot Melrose in public – leaving Jarrod with the task of making the call. Recommend to Grove he use the Sickles defense, or not?

Jarrod sat for a long time looking out the window, thinking about legal ethics and suspect defenses and what he really believed and didn't believe himself. He did a lot of twisting in the wind and a lot of soul searching and finally headed over to the sheriff's office. He didn't make up his mind for sure until he closed the door to the office behind him.

Sheriff Harris had been expecting him. "Getting ready for tomorrow, huh?"

Jarrod nodded. "I'll need some time alone with him," he said, handing the sheriff his sidearm.

"He's the only one in there," the sheriff said as he opened the cell block door.

Jarrod went in. The sheriff closed the cell block door behind him, and Mike Grove got up off his cot to face his attorney. The man's eyes were full of fear. Jarrod had seen it before from men whose lives were now in his hands. The weight of their fear sometimes seemed crushing to Jarrod, but somehow he had always stood up under it.

He stood up now. "Mike, we need to talk about a possible defense to the charge."

"Defense? You mean to get me off?"

"Maybe just to keep you from hanging," Jarrod said, hedging. "Sit down. I'll explain it."

Grove sat back down on the cot, and looked up at Jarrod with big, scared, hopeful eyes.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Nick and Heath were working in the barn, taking inventory of the feed for the horses, when they heard someone ride into the yard. It was getting later in the day and they figured it was probably Jarrod coming home, but then Nick caught a glimpse of a woman dismounting out there, and he recognized her. "Oh, no, what does she want?"

Heath looked as Nick went outside, running interference for his brother. Heath stayed at the barn door, watching and listening.

"Ella," Nick said. "What do you want?" Nick was nothing if not blunt.

"I want to see Jarrod," she said. "I need to talk to him." Her voice wavered and cracked.

"Jarrod's not here," Nick said. "He's gone to his office in town. Go on home and you might catch him there or run into him on the way."

Ella saw Heath in the barn door, and her eyes locked on him for a moment. She looked away, but she didn't remount or even look like she wanted to. She just looked nervous. "Can't I just wait for him here?"

"I don't think that's a good idea," Nick said.

"Look, Nick," she said, "I'm desperate. Look." She produced a note that she handed to Nick.

The note prompted Heath to come over to them and to look over Nick's shoulder. The note carried a threat – _You will pay for Mike,_ it said. "Jarrod is Mike's lawyer," Nick said. "I'm not sure he can help you."

"I don't know who else to ask!" she finally blurted out, finally began crying.

"You should talk to the sheriff," Heath said.

"I can't! Mike is in there! I can't talk in front of him! I have to talk to Jarrod! Please, can't I wait for him here? I'm afraid!"

Nick and Heath looked at each other. Even Nick suddenly felt bad for the woman, even if he wasn't entirely sure this wasn't a ruse on her part. "Let me take you up to the house and see if it's all right with Mother if you wait here."

Nick didn't offer to put an arm around her or guide her to the house. He just began moving toward the front door. Heath put a guiding hand to Ella's back, but let go right away. She looked at him, her eyes flooded. Heath just followed along to the house without a word.

When Nick and Heath brought Ella through the front door, Victoria was finishing arranging some flowers on the small table in the foyer, and she stopped dead when she saw Ella. She gave quick looks to both of her sons and then let her gaze settle on Ella, who looked back like a wounded doe. "What's going on?" Victoria asked.

"Ella's looking for Jarrod," Nick said.

"He's in town," Victoria said.

Nick said, "I told her but she got a threatening note and she wants to wait here for Jarrod to come home."

"I'm afraid to go back into town, Mrs. Barkley," Ella said. "I'm sorry. I just don't know where else to go."

_Victoria said, _"I don't know when Jarrod will be here."

Heath felt a little for Ella. She was getting no welcome reception here – in fact, she was getting shown the door and everyone knew it. But Heath was still new enough to this family and environment that he did not feel comfortable saying anything to contradict Victoria in any way, not in front of strangers, not when he wasn't sure of what he thought ought to be done.

Then Ella looked at him with those frightened eyes. Nick rolled his when Ella wasn't looking.

Victoria said, "Come out to the garden with me, Ella. Let's talk."

Victoria put an arm around Ella and led her right back out the front door, leaving Nick and Heath to look at each other and give sighs of relief. "You were gonna offer to take her home, weren't you?" Nick asked.

Heath said, "I don't know. She is in trouble, Nick."

"Is she? How do we know she didn't write that note herself just to give her an excuse to come out here?"

"We don't," Heath said. "But you don't need to act like I need protecting from her. If I take her home, nothing's gonna happen between us. No matter what, nothing's gonna happen between us."

"This is a girl who got a lover killed, Heath," Nick said.

"Did she? Didn't Mike have something to do with that? Or are you gonna be like a lot of other men around here and put all the blame on her?"

Nick hesitated. He hadn't realized it, but that's what he was doing – assuming too much that the killing had been Ella's fault for taking up with Melrose, more than it had been Mike's fault for killing him.

Heath saw Nick was getting the point. "The Groves had a lousy marriage and the blame isn't all Ella's," Heath said. "Personally, I think most of the blame is Mike's – he was unfaithful all over the place to her and he's the one who killed Melrose. But just because I think that, it doesn't mean I think Ella doesn't have anything to answer for, and I'm not looking to be her next lover. I can give her the help of a ride home and still handle myself around her. She's not gonna take me in." Heath was getting tired of the family warning him, worrying about him, thinking he'd be trapped by Ella too easily. It was time to get it to stop.

Nick gave in. "All right, you're right, I'm sorry. You do what you want – but you're the one who'll be explaining it to Mother."

Heath nodded. "And Jarrod, and Audra. I get the picture, Nick, and I'll answer for myself. For now, let's just go get back to work."

"Yeah," Nick agreed, and they went back to the barn.

XXXXXX

Victoria took Ella out into the garden and sat her down on the bench there. Ella was fidgety, uncomfortable. Victoria expected some of that was because she was the one who was taking control of her and Ella hadn't expected that. She had expected one of the men to take care of her, Victoria figured, and probably Heath despite Ella saying she had come to see Jarrod.

"Ella," she said, "I don't know what time Jarrod will be getting home, but you know he's Mike's attorney, not yours. He won't be able to help you."

"Then who?" she asked. "Somebody has threatened me!"

"You need to go see the sheriff," Victoria said.

"Not in front of Mike."

"You haven't been to see him since he was arrested?"

"No. I can't see him. We're through. We've been through for a long time. Everyone knows he's been unfaithful to me, over and over again. I'm not taking it anymore."

"So you took up with Bob Melrose."

Ella didn't say anything.

Victoria said, "I won't be passing judgment on you for that. Mike gave you plenty of provocation but that's between the two of you. That's your business. But you can't come running to the Barkleys for protection." Victoria paused for a moment and thought about what she was going to say next. "Heath has been with us for a very short time," she ended up saying. "He is still feeling his way and it is not an easy path. But he is with us. He is one of us. He cannot be your protector or your savior, or anything else."

Ella's eyes flashed. "I haven't asked anything of Heath."

"No, not with words," Victoria said, "but he's a kind man and he's been kind to you when many others have not. Don't misinterpret that as interest."

"I'm not."

Victoria squeezed her hand. "Good. You have a very hard road ahead of you, and if someone has made threats I understand that makes it even harder. But your help is with the sheriff. He needs to know that you've been threatened. And I'm not saying the threats are justified, because they're not. But you've made some poor choices in your life. There are consequences for poor choices, and sometimes it's the worst of your neighbors who force those consequences on you."

Ella jumped up, anger in her eyes. "Like the Barkleys? I always heard the Barkleys were good and fair people. I can see now I've heard wrong."

Ella marched off toward the barns, and Victoria let her go. She hoped the girl wasn't going to head straight for Heath, but if she did, Victoria was not going to interfere now. She'd had her say. Ella knew that Victoria was watching her. And Victoria knew that she could not protect Heath any more than she already had. She still did not know the newest Barkley as well as she was planning to know him, but she did trust him to be careful. And if he went wrong in his dealings with Ella, his brothers would probably be right there to set him straight. That's what family was for. That was what Heath was here to learn.

Ella went straight to the stable yard, where her horse was tied up. By chance, Heath was coming out of the barn as she was mounting up. She turned her horse but stopped when she saw Heath. They stared at each other for a moment before Ella said, "I'm going home. Is it too much to ask for an escort?"

Nick overheard and came up behind Heath. Heath turned and saw him, saw the disapproval in his eyes, but gave him a small reassuring smile. _I can handle this_, his smile said, and Nick gave him a slight understanding nod.

Heath said, "Give me a minute to saddle up and I'll take you home."

Heath went into the stable to get his horse, but Nick stayed looking at Ella. He didn't say a word, but he didn't have to. Ella got the message, the same message Victoria had given her. Ella turned her horse and moved away a bit. It wasn't long before Heath came out of the stable, mounted up and rode off with her wordlessly.

Victoria had come down from the garden and was arriving beside Nick as Heath and Ella rode off. "You told her off, didn't you?" Nick asked.

"In a sense," Victoria said. "I hope I don't have to tell Heath off."

"He told me off," Nick said. "He's a big boy, Mother. We gotta start giving him some trust that he can take care of himself as a Barkley. At least where Ella is concerned."

"Of course, you're right," Victoria said. "But I'm trusting you and Jarrod to set him right if he needs it."

Nick smiled a little. "Haven't Jarrod and I had plenty of practice setting each other right?"

Victoria chuckled, recalling a lot of years of her two oldest sons riding herd on one another. "That you have."

"Well, then, like you said, if Heath is a Barkley, he's in for that, too. That's family."

"And that's what he's here to learn," Victoria echoed her own earlier thoughts.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Thank you for seeing me home."

Heath and Ella were halfway to Stockton before either of them spoke. Heath just didn't feel any need to. He wasn't sure why Ella didn't say anything, but he wasn't really surprised when she said what she said. An opening line. She wanted to talk more. He wasn't sure he wanted to, but at the same time, he didn't want to be completely impolite. "You're welcome," he said.

"Do you believe me?" Ella asked a few moments later.

"About what?" Heath asked.

"About that note. About somebody threatening me."

Heath thought his answer over. "I can believe somebody threatened you. But I don't know who. Do you?"

"No," she said. "I'm scared, Heath."

"I'm sure you are," Heath said.

"I need somebody to stay with me."

"You need to talk to the sheriff about getting you a guard."

"But it won't be you."

"It won't be me."

Ella gave an audible sigh. "Why is it your family thinks I'm nothing but trouble and that I'm just after you?"

Heath decided to be honest. "Maybe because you have a reputation, and I'm new in town and fresh game."

"Oh," Ella said. "You think like they do."

"I know those two things are facts, not my family's opinions," Heath said. "And I know that you need help and you'll grab for whatever you can. It just can't be me, Ella."

"Do you think it's my fault Mike killed Bob?"

"No," Heath said. "I think it's Mike's fault Mike killed Bob. But you two have a messed-up marriage that's your business and your problem and I don't want to get pulled into it."

"Mike cheated on me every chance he got! I needed somebody and Bob was there!"

Heath nodded, and resisted asking if Bob was the first somebody she had turned to. Asking that question would drag him further into her situation. And suddenly, help was coming from the other direction. Heath didn't really think he needed it, but he was glad to see him anyway.

Jarrod approached and they all stopped there in the road. Jarrod looked very surprised to see them. He cast a suspicious eye on them both. "Going somewhere?" he asked.

"I'm taking Ella home," Heath said. "She came to the ranch looking for you. Somebody's threatened her."

Now Jarrod looked surprised, but then eased off, like he shouldn't have been surprised. "Who?" he asked Ella.

"He didn't sign the note," Ella said. "It just said I would pay for Mike."

Jarrod heaved a sigh. "Heath, why don't you head on back to the house? I'll see Ella into town. We'll talk."

"Can you help her?" Heath asked. "It wouldn't be a conflict with you representing Mike?"

"It shouldn't be," Jarrod said, "but if it turns that way, I'll help her find some other help."

"Like the sheriff?"

"I won't see the sheriff with Mike in jail," Ella said.

Jarrod turned his horse to face toward Stockton. "I was looking for you in town anyway, Ella. Let's go to your house and talk," Jarrod said. "Heath, tell Mother I might not make it for dinner."

Heath nodded, turned his horse, and started back for the house. Ella watched him go.

"Come on, Ella," Jarrod said, and he started for Stockton.

Ella followed along.

XXXXXXX

What Jarrod thought about all the way to the Grove house was what he'd already made up his mind to do - he had decided he would put the Sickles defense in front of the jury, and if it was successful, Mike Grove could get off scott free. Now he ruminated on the fact that if Mike got off scott free, Ella still had her problem marriage in front of her. He debated talking to her about that and decided he shouldn't. There was the off chance that the trial would go in such a way that he wouldn't use the defense, plus it was a confidential matter between him and Mike at this point.

Once he made that decision, Jarrod fretted for a moment about Heath, but he didn't dwell on it long. Heath had gone home, and independently Jarrod was coming to the same conclusion that Nick and Victoria had reached – that Heath was a big boy and needed to be trusted to look out for himself, but that his brothers should be ready to help if he needed it. By the time Jarrod and Ella had reached her home, he had his mind made up about how he was going to approach her with what he needed her to know. He helped her dismount and took her into the house.

As they went in, he said, "I'll look after your horse for you after we talk," and closed the door behind them.

"Thank you," Ella said.

"Let me see the note you got," Jarrod said.

Ella took it out of her pocket wearily and handed to him. Their eyes met for a moment. He thought she looked exasperated, even thwarted.

He read the note. "Do you recognize this handwriting at all?"

"No," she said. "I don't know who sent that."

"Is this the only threat you've gotten?"

"So far."

Jarrod pointed to the sofa. "Sit down."

Ella sat on the sofa with a sigh. Jarrod sat down on the sofa beside her, giving back the note.

"Have you shown this to the prosecutor?" Jarrod asked.

"No. I don't really like him," Ella said.

"But I know you've talked to the district attorney."

Ella fidgeted unhappily. "Not about this."

"We should take this to the sheriff then," Jarrod said.

"I told you, I don't want to see him while Mike is there."

"I'll go get him and bring him over here," Jarrod said.

Ella just rubbed her forehead.

Jarrod looked her over. He knew darned well why she had come to see him at the ranch about this note. He said, "No one in town has been fooled that you're not looking at Heath as your next savior."

"Look, Jarrod, whatever I think is none of your business. It's between me and Heath," Ella said.

"Indeed, it is," Jarrod said, "and I'll let the two of you deal with it. But we Barkleys catch each other when we trip up. Heath is a Barkley now. You should remember that."

"What else do you want to talk about?" Ella asked him.

Jarrod said, "Your involvement in your husband's case. I've heard from the district attorney that you'll be testifying."

Ella's eyes grew wide. "What of it?"

"I don't intend to get into the detail about the testimony he'll be haing you give," Jarrod said. "That's between you and the district attorney. I'm sure he's made you aware that as Mike's wife you can refuse to testify at all."

"I'll testify," Ella said.

Jarrod nodded. "And you understand that I will cross examine you as Mike's attorney."

"I understand everything."

Jarrod got up. "Good. Then that's the end of our discussion. I'm going to go tell the sheriff about the threat against you. I'm not taking it lightly, Ella. I don't want anything to happen to you. Mike has used you poorly, but you've responded poorly, too. Somebody clearly doesn't like that, but no one has the right to threaten you, and the sheriff will see whoever is doing it is punished for it. I can't do that. No one but the sheriff can do that."

Ella looked away from him.

"This trial may very well end in one day," Jarrod said, "and it will be time for you to decide what you're going to do with the rest of your life."

"You don't think you'll be getting Mike off," Ella said.

"I'll never predict what any jury is going to do," Jarrod said, "but he is my client and I will represent him to the best of my ability. You should be prepared for anything."

Ella deflated a little, and then she was crying softly. "I never asked for any of this, Jarrod. Mike cheated on me and Bob was kind to me. I needed him. Can't anybody understand how I've needed someone?"

Jarrod felt for her, but he remembered that Bob was not the only man she'd been involved with outside her marriage. He knew for a fact, through his contacts and investigating this case since taking it on, that the rumor mill was correct. "I understand, Ella, but you had choices to make and they weren't always wise. There's a price to pay for unwise decisions."

"Get out," Ella said wearily. "Go home to your family and leave me alone."

Jarrod said, "I'm truly sorry for all of this. I truly am. I'll get the sheriff and take care of your horse." And he left.

"Don't bother!" she yelled after him. And in her privacy, Ella cried and swore, and picked up the threatening note and ripped it apart.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Sorry I'm late."

Jarrod arrived home as dinner was finishing up, but he took his place at the table and dug into what was left on the serving platters – not much after Nick and Heath had gotten through with them. Nick poured him some coffee as Jarrod took the last piece of steak from a platter and the last of the potatoes and carrots.

"How'd it go with Ella?" Nick asked, blunt as always.

"Not bad," Jarrod said. "She'll be testifying at Mike's trial."

"You're having her testify?" Victoria asked.

"Not me," Jarrod said. "The district attorney, although I hope to get something helpful out of her on cross-examination. I also hope none of you is planning to attend the trial."

"I guess we're not now," Victoria said. "Do you expect trouble?"

"I don't know," Jarrod said. "I talked to Ella about that threatening note she received. She told me she had no idea who sent it. She wouldn't let me take it to the sheriff, but whether she went by herself after I left, I don't know. When she testifies tomorrow – well, we'll have to see what happens. And we'll also have to see what happens when the verdict comes in. It's a tough trial. Anything could happen, and I'd just as soon not have to worry about the family while I'm worrying about everything else."

"Are you gonna be safe?" Nick asked.

"No one's threatened me so far," Jarrod said. "If people don't like the verdict, maybe that will change, but I don't think there's any real threat to me nor will there be."

"You don't think the verdict's going to be that unpopular?" Heath asked.

"I don't know," Jarrod said. "That depends on what the verdict is."

Audra looked worriedly from Jarrod to Victoria and back. "I wish you were taking some protection."

"No guns allowed in the courthouse, Audra," Jarrod said.

"We could wait outside," Heath said.

Jarrod shook his head. "I'd rather not have any of you around. If anything happened in a crowd, you couldn't do anything about it anyway, and if I ever get any threat about this, I expect it'll come later. We'll have time to deal with it. But like I said – I don't think I'm going to come under any threat. Ella – yes, maybe there's more to come, but the sheriff will have to handle that if Ella will let him. It's not our job."

Jarrod began to gobble his food down, while everyone else looked at each other. "I guess we won't expect you home for dinner," Victoria said.

Jarrod smiled a wry smile. "I wouldn't expect anything one way or the other, Mother. This one is too close to call."

XXXXXXXX

Jarrod went to the jail the next morning to give his client some last minute instructions and a pep talk that his heart wasn't really in. He couldn't recall feeling so ambivalent about a case, knowing what he had to do but not really liking it, planning to do it and hoping that he didn't do an incompetent job just because deep down inside he wanted to. He kept telling himself that a win here, an indication that he had done a good job, would just be that Mike Grove would not hang. He hoped – actually hoped – that he didn't get him completely exonerated on a Dan Sickles defense. He'd never before felt like getting his client found not guilty would be a miscarriage of justice, but he felt that way now.

And he wished he had never taken the case at all, but no one else would so he had. Mike Grove had to have his say, at least, even if Jarrod didn't like saying it.

Then he mentioned to Mike that Ella would be testifying. Grove nearly exploded. "I thought they couldn't make a wife testify against her husband!"

"She can testify if she wants," Jarrod said.

"What about what I want?"

"I think you should want her to testify," Jarrod said.

Grove looked unbelieving.

"She can help with your defense," Jarrod said. "She can probably help you more than hurt you. Let it alone, Mike. Let her testify. Let me ask her the questions we need to have answers to."

"I don't like it!"

"I know you don't, but what is there to like about any of this, Mike?" Jarrod was getting angry now. "Let me do my job."

Grove gave in and nodded, but he didn't like it. He didn't have long to fret over it though, because in just a minute or two, it was time to leave.

Jarrod went to the courthouse with the sheriff leading his client over in chains. Once at the trial table, the sheriff removed the chains, but it was almost pointless. The room was filled with prospective jurors and every one of them saw the chains. The whole idea of removing the chains so that the jury wouldn't be prejudiced was futile most of the time, and really futile this time.

The prosecuting attorney arrived just after the sheriff sat down in the front row of the gallery. Jim Scanlon was a friend, a man Jarrod had gone to law school with, and someone Jarrod had admired for a long time. He shook hands with the man, asked how his wife was, and then the bailiff called, "All rise!"

Judge Thomas Farnham came in and took the bench. He was not a man to waste time, and it wasn't but an hour before the jury was chosen and sworn in. Fifteen minutes later opening statements were over, and Jarrod had dropped the first surprise on everyone in the room when he gave his.

"The defense admits that Mike Grove shot Bob Melrose dead on Tuesday last," Jarrod said. "We could hardly deny it. But we will show you why, and we will show you the extenuating circumstances that will make a genuine difference in how you see this incident. We will show you that Mike Grove was so blinded, so riven with pain and anguish over his wife's infidelity, that he – " Jarrod hesitated to say it, because of his own discomfort but it came out as dramatic emphasis instead. "That he temporarily had no idea what he was doing. There is a concept in the law, that a man can be temporarily insane and unable to understand the ramifications of his actions. The defense will explain all this to you and show you that Mike Grove was in such a state when he shot and killed Bob Melrose. We ask that you pay attention, that you keep your mind open and keep it on the law as the judge will explain it to you at the end of this trial. It will make a difference."

As Jarrod completed his statement, he caught Scanlon looking at him like he had gone temporarily insane himself. Jarrod sat down, and the presentation of testimony and evidence began.

There were not many witnesses. Scanlon called Sheriff Harris first, and he testified about his part in arresting Grove and what he had seen when he was called to the scene of the shooting. Jarrod asked, "What was Mr. Grove's demeanor when you first saw him?"

"Well, he looked a little perplexed, I'd say," Sheriff Harris said. "Kinda stunned."

"Thank you, Sheriff. No further questions."

Scanlon didn't ask any follow up, unwilling to give the Sheriff more opportunity to explain that Grove didn't look like he knew which way was up. Scanlon then called Pierson, the man who had tackled Grove after the shooting, and quickly established that Grove had done the shooting. In another trial, Jarrod might have stipulated to that and avoided the witness telling the gruesome story, but in this one, Jarrod had to let him testify, because he had a pivotal point to get on cross-examination. "Mr. Pierson," he said. "You and I discussed this incident soon after it happened, did we not?"

"Yes, we did," Pierson said.

"And at the time – you said, in these exact words, that the defendant was foaming at the mouth when he shot Bob Melrose, isn't that correct?"

"Yes," Pierson said. "That's what I said."

"Did I prompt you into using those words?"

"Uh – no, no, you didn't."

"Did I ask you to describe the defendant's demeanor before you used those words?"

"No, not as I remember, you didn't."

"Those were words you chose yourself, weren't they?"

"Yes, they were."

Jarrod ended his cross, and Scanlon asked only on follow-up, "Mr. Pierson, is there any doubt in your mind that the defendant knew what he was doing when you saw him shoot Bob Melrose?"

"Objection," Jarrod said. "Calls for a conclusion, not a description of fact."

"Sustained," the judge said.

Scanlon let it go. The question alone would suit his purpose.

Scanlon called on two other witnesses who had arrived at the scene, but Jarrod had no questions for them and they were barely on the stand before they stepped down.

And then Scanlon called Ella. She took the stand, her hand shaking as she took the oath. When she sat down, Scanlon got up and walked up to her. "Mrs. Grove, I want you to tell the jury about Bob Melrose."

"Tell them what?" Ella asked.

"Tell them about your relationship."

She hesitated, but she said, "He was my lover."

"Your husband found out, didn't he?"

"Yes," she said.

"Tell the jury how he reacted."

"He was angry – "

"Objection," Jarrod said.

Before Jarrod could state his grounds, Scanlon said, "Tell the jury what he did. Did he hit you? Did he yell? What did he actually do?"

"He yelled, he hit me, he took a gun and went out the door saying he was going to kill Bob." Ella started to cry.

"Did you try to stop him?"

"How could I try to stop him?!" Ella cried hard now. "He had a gun! He could have shot me! He hit me and he could have shot me!"

"Were you afraid of him?"

"Of course! He had a gun!"

"No further questions," Scanlon said and sat down.

Jarrod sat and thought for a moment, checking his notes. Scanlon was finished with Ella before Jarrod thought he would be. Scanlon had to have brought Ella on to prove premeditation, and he pretty much did and got out of there. That was damning for his client, but Jarrod thought he could do something with it. He got up, and walked up to Ella.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Jarrod leaned in a bit toward Ella on the witness stand. "Mrs. Grove, you've been married to the defendant for four years and three months, is that correct?"

"Yes," she said.

"And you have lived all of those four years and three months in Stockton, is that correct?"

"Yes," she said.

"And in those four years and three months, you have had more than one affair with a man who was not your husband, is that correct?"

"Objection," Scanlon said. "Mrs. Grove is not on trial for her actions here, and this is beyond the scope of direct."

Jarrod turned toward Scanlon. "You opened the subject of Mrs. Grove's extramarital affairs when you asked about her relationship with Bob Melrose."

"Overruled," Judge Farnham said. "Answer the question, Mrs. Grove."

Jarrod repeated the question. "You've had more than one affair with a man who was not your husband, isn't that correct?"

Ella swallowed. "Yes."

"In fact, you've had three affairs, is that correct?"

She swallowed again. "Yes."

"And your husband found out about each of those affairs, did he not?"

She started to cry again. "Yes."

"And you argued each time he found out, did you not?"

"He had -!"

Jarrod cut her off. "Yes or no only, answer the question, Mrs. Grove, and only the question I asked. You argued with your husband each time he found out about your affairs with other men, didn't you?"

"Yes," she said in voice so low and broken it hardly carried.

"In fact, you argued so severely the defendant hit you at least once on each occasion, didn't he?" Jarrod started leaning in closer.

"Yes!" she said, more vehemently this time.

"And one of those affairs was with the deceased, Bob Melrose, is that correct?"

"Yes."

Jarrod's voice was getting progressively louder. "And your husband hit you when he confronted you about your affair with Bob Melrose, didn't he?"

"Yes! I already said that!"

"And he picked up his pistol and marched right out of the house right after he hit you, didn't he?"

"Yes – yes – "

"He was a madman, wasn't he?" Now Jarrod was so close and so loud he was almost spitting on her.

"Yes!" Ella said.

Scanlon objected as fast as he could. "Objection, Your Honor, calls for a conclusion!"

Judge Farnham sustained it and ordered the answer stricken from the record, but it didn't matter to Jarrod. The jury had heard her answer. "Could you stop him from leaving?" Jarrod asked.

"No," she said.

"He grabbed a gun and marched out, didn't he?"

"Yes."

"And you were afraid to stop him, weren't you?"

"Yes!"

"And this was different from the other times you'd argued over other men you've had affairs with, wasn't it?" Louder still, closer still.

"Yes!"

"He'd never marched out with a gun before, had he?"

"No!" Ella was shaking like crazy now.

"He was foaming at the mouth, wasn't he?"

"Just about."

"Yes or no, Mrs. Grove."

"Yes!"

"You were afraid for what he was going to do, weren't you?"

Ella hesitated and finally said, "Yes."

"From what you knew of him and what you could see, he was far beyond any anger he had ever shown you, wasn't he?"

"Objection!" Scanlon said. "Calls for a conclusion."

Jarrod whirled to face Scanlon and then the judge. "It calls for a comparison, Your Honor, how the defendant normally acted in these circumstances versus how he was acting this time. A comparison of what Mrs. Grove could observe."

"Overruled," the judge said.

Jarrod repeated the question. "He was far beyond any anger he had ever shown you over your affairs with men other than Bob Melrose, wasn't he?"

Ella said, "He was angrier than I've ever seen, yes." She was beginning to shrink inside herself.

"Foaming at the mouth!"

"Yes!"

Jarrod eased off a little and said, "You knew what he was going to do, didn't you?"

Ella rubbed her forehead nervously. "Yes," she said, her voice shaking.

"You didn't even try to stop him," Jarrod said.

"No," Ella said.

"Because he was so out of control he scared you half to death, didn't he?"

Ella glared up at Jarrod and said, "Yes!"

"You feared for your life, didn't you?"

"Yes!"

"From your own husband!" Loud and close again, to finish this off.

"Yes!"

Scanlon finally stood up. "Your Honor, counsel is badgering the witness. He's made his points repeatedly."

Jarrod backed off completely then without waiting for the judge and said, more quietly, "I have no further questions."

Scanlon stood up as Jarrod returned to the defense table, and he approached Ella, who was wiping her eyes in futility. She kept crying. Scanlon said, "Mrs. Grove, how many extramarital affairs has your husband had that you've known about in the last four years and three months?"

Jarrod said, "Objection. Beyond the scope of cross, and the defendant's affairs, if any, are not at issue here."

"They show a pattern of behavior, Your Honor," Scanlon said. "The Groves' entire marriage shows a pattern of behavior that explains what happened here, and Mr. Barkley questioned the extramarital affairs in this marriage extensively. The jury needs to be able to consider all of the facts in this case."

"Overruled," Judge Farnham said. "You may answer the question."

"Six," Ella said. "He had six."

That was all Scanlon had.

Ella asked the judge in a voice shaking with embarrassment, anger and even fear, "May I leave now?"

Both Jarrod and Scanlon let her off the hook, nodding. "You may go, Mrs. Grove," Judge Farnham said.

Ella got up and hurried out of the room, looking horrified and devastated, as if Jarrod had just beaten her up and left her lying in the road. Jarrod wasn't happy about what he had just done. He had been rough on her. He had drilled her over and over with the affairs she had had with Bob Melrose and other men just so the jury would hear it over and over, just so they'd believe that Grove had gone out of control because his wife was so incredibly unfaithful to him. Maybe he never had the highest regard for Ella Grove, but he right now he didn't have the highest regard for himself either. But there were many times he hated himself for what he had to do in court. He looked away as Ella went by and left the courthouse.

Scanlon rested his case then. Jarrod moved for dismissal, which as he expected was denied. The judge called for a brief recess, the jury was led out, the judge left and the defendant was returned to jail as the spectators filed out. Only Jarrod, Scanlon and the court reporter remained.

Jim Scanlon came to Jarrod and said, "I thought you might try a Sickles defense, but I don't think it's going to work."

Jarrod said, "It's a legal defense. If I don't try it, I'm guilty of malpractice."

Scanlon shrugged. "If you get it to work, it'll probably be the first time in California."

"Maybe," Jarrod said.

"If anybody does it, you will," Scanlon said, and he went outside for a smoke.

Jarrod stayed inside, thinking and reading, foregoing the smoke. There were two major reasons he was not remotely sure he could establish a Sickles defense. One was that he had no real idea what it was going to take to do it. He hadn't had the time to research it except in the most general terms out of Corpus Juris. He didn't know what evidence Sickles's attorneys actually used. His second concern was the feeling that to really establish it, he had to have Dr. Benbow's finding that Mike Grove had temporarily gone insane, and he didn't have that.

His argument for a Sickles defense was very shaky, but one thing was absolutely certain about this case – his client had shot Bob Melrose dead. That was an established fact that no one was disputing. It was the rest of it, the legalities, that were up in the air.

When the court reconvened, it was Jarrod's turn to put his case on.

Jarrod called the defendant to the stand. He had decided he was not going to ask any list of questions of Mike Grove at first. He simply said, "Tell us what happened, Mr. Grove."

Mike told his story, how he'd found out about Ella's infidelities before but this one with Bob Melrose was the last straw because he considered Melrose a friend. He admitted he and Ella had argued and he hit her and then he got his gun. And then he said, "After that – it's all a blur. I don't really remember what I did."

Jarrod asked, "Do you remember shooting Bob Melrose?"

"Yeah."

"Clearly?"

"I remember finding him and firing the gun but I was so – angry and so livid and so betrayed and everything just went crazy. My head went spinning around and I didn't know what I was doing, not until the sheriff took me to jail and then I started to get normal again." Mike started to cry.

"Do you remember Mr. Pierson tackling you after you shot Mr. Melrose?" Jarrod asked.

"No, I don't really remember that. I just remember being taken down and then hauled off to jail."

"Why did you shoot Bob Melrose?"

"Because he stole my wife!" Grove stood up and shouted that. The bailiff quickly came over and pushed him down by the shoulders, but Mike kept shouting. "He stole my wife! He ruined my home! Nobody steals from me! I went crazy and I killed him!"

Jarrod got up from the table and came up to Mike, speaking calmly to quiet him down. "Did you feel like you had your senses about you when you shot Mr. Melrose?"

"Objection!" Scanlon said. "The defendant's feelings at the time are totally subjective."

"But completely relevant!" Jarrod protested, turning on his old law school friend. "That's the whole point here. What was the defendant's understanding at the time he shot the deceased? What was he capable of understanding? Was he so confused and distraught that he didn't know where his senses had gone?"

"I'll allow it," the judge said, understanding where Jarrod was going.

Grove had calmed down while Jarrod was arguing his point, and he said more quietly, "No, I didn't have my senses about me. I didn't know where I was or what I was really doing."

Jarrod left it there, saying, "Your witness," as he went back to the defense table.

Scanlon got up and went directly into Mike's face. "Did you kill Mr. Melrose?"

Jarrod said, "Objection. Asked and answered and it's already been established that the defendant did kill the deceased."

"Sustained," Judge Farnham said. "Move on, Counselor."

Scanlon glared at Grove. "Did you take a gun out of your home intending to shoot Bob Melrose with it when you shot him?"

Grove swallowed. "Yes."

Malice aforethought. With Ella's testimony too, premeditation was solidly established, Jarrod had to admit to himself, but it was a fine line he had to accept if he was going to use the Sickles defense - when was the defendant's attitude premeditation and when had it dissolved into temporary insanity? The Sickles defense might have been shot down right there, as much as Bob Melrose had been shot down in the street, but at least Jarrod had something to argue with.

Scanlon said, "No more questions."

"Redirect, Mr. Barkley?" the judge asked.

Jarrod looked at Mike, who just looked away. "Mr. Grove, do you regret what you did?"

"Objection!" Scanlon said, jumping up.

Jarrod stood up. "Your Honor, this case is all about the defendant's state of mind. He should be allowed to express it."

"I'll allow the question," Judge Farnham said.

"Yes," Mike said quietly. "I regret it."

Jarrod called no other witnesses, and Scanlon offered no rebuttal case. That was the end of all the testimony. All the questioning had taken barely an hour. Judge Farnham had the jury removed to the jury room, entertained motions and denied them, and said, "Let's have your jury instructions, gentlemen."

And they all knew the instructions would be run of the mill, except for one.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

How do you argue your heart out on a legal point when you really don't want to? Jarrod had to answer that question to himself when the judge finally got to his proposed instruction on the Sickles defense and asked, "Mr. Barkley, is this proposed instruction pro forma or is it your own language?"

"My own language, Your Honor, following my research on the defense that was successful in the case of Daniel E. Sickles, with which I'm sure you're familiar," Jarrod said.

"I understand where it comes from, but there was no written decision in that case, was there?"

"No, your honor. The only information I was able to find was in Corpus Juris," Jarrod said, "but the defense was clear. Mr. Grove was able to show that he had so completely lost control of himself because of his wife's infidelity that he didn't remember the shooting clearly, that he didn't feel he had his senses about him – "

"You haven't presented any medical testimony, Counselor."

"No, Your Honor, I've presented no medical testimony, only the defendant's own testimony as to his state of mind, the testimony of Mr. Pierson about the defendant's demeanor when he tackled him, the testimony of the Sheriff when he arrested Mr. Grove and the testimony of Mrs. Grove about his demeanor when he left the house to shoot the deceased. If you recall, Mr. Pierson said the defendant was foaming at the mouth, as did Mrs. Grove, and Mrs. Grove said he was unusually angry when he left the house and she was afraid of what he was going to do. The Sheriff testified that Mr. Grove seemed perplexed when he was arrested. The jury needs to be able to consider all that in judging the defendant's actions that day. The jury should be permitted to determine what all this means."

Judge Farnham looked at Scanlon. "What is the State's position on this instruction, Mr. Scanlon?"

Scanlon hesitated, but said, "Your Honor, the State of California has always directed that great leeway be given a defendant arguing his innocence. It's not the State's intent that it be seen as depriving a defendant of every chance he has to defend himself, but some defenses are just spurious."

"Is that what you're saying this is?" Judge Farnham asked. "There is quite well-known precedent for this defense."

"But suspect precedent, Your Honor. There is only the one case we know of, not in California, and it was politically charged."

"Nevertheless, it stands," Judge Farnham said. "All right, Mr. Barkley, I'll allow the instruction. Sit down, gentlemen. Let's get the jury back in here and have closing argument."

Jarrod and Scanlon returned to their seats, checked their notes, and finalized their arguments as the jury came back in.

Scanlon argued first and was brutally frank and brief. He argued that there here just wasn't much to dispute. Mike Grove had been seen by a witness shooting Bob Melrose dead, admitted he took the gun from his home with intent to shoot Melrose dead and admitted that he shot Melrose dead. Premeditated murder, pure and simple.

Jarrod was more slow and careful. Yes, Grove had murdered Melrose in front of a witness who testified quite truthfully, but that witness had also testified that Grove was "foaming at the mouth," and the defendant testified as to his confused and anguished state of mind because his wife had been unfaithful to him. Grove's wife testified it was the third time, and they'd argued, and he'd hit her, but this time was different. This was the only time he'd taken a gun and left the house, and she was afraid of what he was going to do. The Sheriff testified to Grove's perplexed demeanor when he was arrested. Jarrod explained that the judge would be instructing the jury about a defense to this murder charge, a defense rooted in the defendant's temporary insanity. Jarrod saw the doubtful looks come over the jurors' faces, and he said, "I know it sounds difficult to deal with, but it is a legitimate defense to the charge, and you must consider it carefully and consider the evidence that's been presented that the defendant was, in fact, temporarily insane when he killed Mr. Melrose."

Scanlon argued on rebuttal that the defense Jarrod talked about was just a ruse Grove was using to get out of his responsibility for what he'd done with malice aforethought, that his wife's infidelity was no excuse for him taking the life of another human being, and that the jury should find the defendant guilty and sentence him to the maximum allowed under the law. Grove should hang.

Jarrod made only one statement on his surrebuttal argument. "Gentleman – how can a man who is foaming at the mouth form any kind of malice aforethought, or any forethought of any kind, at all?"

Then the judge read the instructions to the jury, and they were taken to the jury room to deliberate. Mike Grove was taken back to jail. The gallery emptied, except for Jarrod and Scanlon, who sat at their respective tables looking exhausted, looking at each other. "Nice job," Scanlon said. "It might work."

Jarrod gave a big, exhausted sigh. He might tell Scanlon someday that he was praying to God inside himself that his client did not walk away from this crime the way Sickles had walked away from his, but now wasn't the time. "We'll see," Jarrod just said.

XXXXXXXX

"How do you think the trial's going?" Heath asked as he and Nick headed home at the end of the day.

"I'm thinking it might be over," Nick said. "Except for this Sickles defense – if Jarrod even uses it – it should be open and shut."

"You think Mike will hang?"

"I don't know," Nick said. "I'm just glad I'm not in his shoes. Glad I'm not in Jarrod's either."

"He does this kind of thing all the time, doesn't he?" Heath asked.

"Yeah, and why it hasn't given him a heart attack by now, I don't know," Nick said. "It's no way to make a living, if you ask me."

"I guess that's why they asked Jarrod to be a lawyer and not you."

"He likes it, but wait till you see the state he's in when he gets home. However this thing goes, he'll come home looking like he's been beaten up and if he says two words to us the rest of the day, it'll be a surprise. He'll probably go off somewhere and we won't even know what time it is when he comes back."

"Is that what usually happens?"

"When it's been a tough case, and our big brother tends to take the tough cases."

They reached the gate to the stable yard then, but stopped there when they heard a horse coming up behind them. They looked and were astonished to see their older brother arriving. They really hadn't expected him this early. Heath noticed right away that Nick was right – Jarrod looked awful, exhausted and beaten up.

"Over already, is it?" Nick asked.

Jarrod nodded, gave a tired, "Yeah. Murder, life imprisonment."

"Mike won't hang," Heath said.

Jarrod shook his head. "No."

They rode into the yard together and Ciego took all of their horses. Jarrod literally dragged himself into the house, so weary he wasn't sure he was going to make it. He hadn't even brought any work home, just himself. Once inside, he dropped his hat on the table in the foyer, headed straight for the refreshment table and poured himself a large scotch. Then he fell into his "thinking chair" and stared at the empty fireplace.

Nick and Heath held back in the foyer, planning to head upstairs and clean up after a long day in the field. Victoria and Audra had heard them all come in and met them there. Nick nodded toward Jarrod in his chair.

"Murder, life imprisonment," Heath said quietly.

Victoria nodded, and she and Audra went into the living room. Victoria sat down on the settee. Audra gave Jarrod's shoulder a rub before she sat down beside her mother.

Jarrod gave them a look and sighed, staring back at the fireplace. "The Sickles defense didn't work," Audra said.

"No, in a sense it did," Jarrod said. "Grove won't hang. They'll take him off to San Quentin tomorrow. It's the best outcome I could have hoped for."

"But you're not really happy," Victoria said.

Jarrod shook his head. "No, I'm not happy. I didn't plan on being happy. The Groves' dreadful marriage fell right into my lap and I used it and I used them and I was especially harsh using Ella, and now I have to figure out what to do about her after I what I did to her on the stand."

He shut down then, focusing his attention back on the fireplace. Both Victoria and Audra knew that look. _Leave me alone. I'm going to drink and think. _

Heath came down after cleaning up first, but as he did, Jarrod was heading back out the front door, having finished his scotch. Heath didn't say anything to him, remembering how Nick described he'd probably be. Heath went into the living room and poured himself a whiskey, saying, "I understand he can get this way after a trial."

"Yes," Victoria said. "I think he replays them over in his mind, especially when he doesn't like the outcome."

"He said it was the best he could hope for, but you could tell he still didn't like it," Audra said.

"He said he used Ella on the stand," Victoria said.

Audra said, "And he did use her."

"Isn't that his job?" Heath asked.

"He doesn't always like it."

Heath looked toward the door. "I take it he doesn't like company on these long walks."

"No," Audra said. "He definitely had that 'leave me alone' look."

"He'll come back eventually," Victoria said.

"I expect he handled the case pretty darned well, if Mike Grove isn't gonna hang," Heath said.

"Sometimes that bothers him more than if he didn't handle it well," Victoria said. "Though frankly, this time, I'm not sure he'd have been happy with any of the possible outcomes. I don't think he's blaming himself for anything. It was just a bad case."

Nick was coming downstairs as Heath said, "You're probably not gonna like what I'm gonna say, but I wonder if Ella is gonna get more threatening notes now that this is over."

"I'll bet Jarrod's wondering that too," Nick said as he headed for the whiskey. "He's gone out?"

"Yes," Audra said.

"Well, then," Nick said. "I suggest we just leave him to himself until he sorts it all out and comes back in."

"And Ella?" Heath asked.

Nick just looked at him.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"What about Ella?" Nick asked.

"Jarrod said he used her on the stand," Heath said.

"So?" Nick said. "Seems to me she made her bed and she's gonna have to lie in it."

"But she shouldn't have to put up with death threats."

"Just how are you gonna stop them?"

"I don't know," Heath admitted. "I just don't think she should have to put up with that. She's lost her husband, she's all alone – "

"She won't be alone for long," Nick said. "She never has been."

"She's never been threatened like this before, has she?" Heath asked. "And Mike at least always paid the bills, didn't he?"

"Heath, don't start this," Nick said. "Feel bad for her if you want, but don't start thinking there's anything here you have to try to fix."

"Heath," Victoria said, "Nick might be a little harsh in his opinion of Ella under the circumstances." Victoria gave her middle son a glare. "But he is right about one thing. She's made poor decisions in having the affairs she's had. And you know she's had her eye on you, and now there's nothing to stop her from pursuing you if you give her any encouragement at all. And if you try to help her, she'll see it as encouragement."

"I know, I know," Heath said. "You've all warned me enough and I'll keep my distance. It's just a tough position to be in, scorned by the community, threatened, without a man to support her."

Victoria heard an echo of something. She didn't say anything until much later, after dinner. Jarrod had not come back, and Heath had wandered out onto the verandah. Nick was concerned it was Jarrod Heath was worried about and tried to put his mind at ease, but Victoria thought if might be something else. She followed him outside and touched him on the arm to let him know she was there.

"Bothered?" she asked.

"Yeah, a bit," Heath said.

"Not about Jarrod still being gone, though, is it? It's about Ella."

"She's all alone now with no way to support herself and death threats on top of that. I just feel bad for her," Heath said and planned to leave it at that.

But Victoria said, "I'm going to ask you something and if I'm being too personal, I'll drop it. But when you said it was tough to watch her scorned by the community and without a man to support her – Heath, were you seeing something of your own mother in her?"

Heath was surprised she'd sensed that, but then realized he shouldn't have been. "Not until I said it out loud," Heath said. "But yes, I did see something of my own mother. It was hard, so hard on her. Strawberry was a rough place, but some really made it rough on a woman alone with an illegitimate child."

"You feel guilty about that, don't you?"

"A bit," Heath admitted.

"You shouldn't. It certainly wasn't your fault, and your mother didn't get death threats, did she?"

"Not that I know of, but she got shunned by a lot of people, and she didn't deserve that. I know Ella has a reputation and my mother didn't have that, except for me, but I'm not sure Ella deserves what she's getting either."

"But what can you do about it? She is a bit of a predator, Heath, and if you give her any reason at all to think you might feel for her in any way, she'll latch onto you."

"And I don't need that, I know," Heath said. "I'm new around here and getting involved with the wrong woman is the wrong way to make a place for myself in Stockton. I guess that's what's getting to me the most. That I can't do anything."

"You could talk to Jarrod about it," Victoria suggested.

"If he tore her apart on the stand, there ain't gonna be any love or trust between them."

"No, but he might know something that can be done for her that he can take care of, or he might know someone who can help her."

Heath gave a sigh. "You've never had to make your way alone, have you?"

Victoria shook her head. "Not since I was orphaned, but someone took me in even then, and then there were always your father and then your brothers and sister, and now you. No, I've never really had to make my way alone. I've been very fortunate."

Heath was silent for a few moments, and then suddenly they both saw someone coming toward the house, walking across the stable yard. Jarrod was back. "I'll talk to Jarrod," Heath said. "Not tonight – he's got enough swimming around in his head. Maybe tomorrow or the next day."

Jarrod saw them on the verandah and came up to them.

"Evening, Jarrod," Heath said.

"There's some food in the warmer for you," Victoria said.

Jarrod nodded. "I'm sorry I missed dinner."

"We weren't really expecting you," Victoria said, left Heath and took Jarrod by the arm.

Heath let them go inside without him. Tomorrow would be soon enough to think about Ella and talk to Jarrod about her. Tonight, he'd leave it alone. He lit a cigar and watched the stars for a while.

XXXXXXX

"You going into town today, Jarrod?" Heath asked at the breakfast table.

"No," Jarrod said. "I thought I'd take a breather. Why? Do you need something?"

"I'd like to have a word, if you have time."

Nick looked up, curious, as did Audra, though they both suspected they knew what Heath wanted to talk about. Victoria already did know but she didn't say anything.

Jarrod was pretty sure he knew what Heath wanted to talk about, too. "Sure, I'll have time. Before you go out?"

"If it's all right with you, Nick," Heath said.

"Sure," Nick said. "You know where we'll be out there. Just come on out when you're ready."

Jarrod led the way into the library when he and Heath finished eating. "Sit down," he said and parked himself in the armchair by the fireplace. "You want to know about the trial, huh?"

Heath sat on the sofa, facing him. "Not exactly. I'm just a little concerned about Ella and that threatening note she got. What do you think? Are things gonna get worse for her?"

"I don't know," Jarrod said. "I wouldn't be surprised either way. But there's not much you can do about it, Heath."

"Yeah, I know that, you've all warned me enough," Heath said, "and I'm not looking to get involved with her. It's just – it bothers me." Heath decided not to discuss how his feelings for his own mother were getting in the way here. Jarrod didn't need to know that.

"In a more perfect world," Jarrod said, "what would you want to do about it?"

That was a question Heath wasn't expecting. This wasn't a perfect world by a long shot, and he hadn't pictured one. "I don't know, Jarrod. I know she's gonna be out to find somebody to replace Mike – and Bob Melrose – and it ain't gonna be me – but I don't like that she's alone and maybe getting death threats, you know?"

Jarrod thought about it. "I suppose I could ride in and see how she is, but she's likely to slam the door in my face. I wasn't kind to her yesterday."

"Is there anybody else who can check on her?"

"I'm not sure who's gonna want to," Jarrod said. "There's bound to be a man or two in town who are gonna want to take advantage of her availability. I'm not sure they're the kind who are gonna be of any help to her, though. They'll just be helping themselves."

Heath gave a thought and a nod to himself and said, "What if both you and I went to talk to her?"

Jarrod raised an eyebrow. "Together you mean?"

"She might not slam the door on you because I'm there, and she might not make a play for me because you're there."

Jarrod chuckled. "That's very logical thinking, little brother. Are you sure you don't want to be a lawyer when you grow up?"

Now Heath smiled. "After watching you crawl home yesterday, heck yeah, I'm sure."

"All right," Jarrod said, slapping the arms of his chair and getting up. "I'm game for trying, anyway. Let's get ourselves together and try to get in there by nine or so. Maybe between the two of us we can get her over the next few days, but only if we stick together. She might very well try to play us one against the other, you know."

Heath stood up. "We won't let her. Thanks, Jarrod. I know I'm being a soft touch, but I don't want to be."

Jarrod shook his head. "You're no soft touch, Heath. You're just a man who cares and you're still feeling your way around. It's Pappy's job to help you out with that."

"Where'd you get this Pappy nickname, anyway?" Heath asked as they headed out the door.

"Somebody gave it to me, Nick I think. I bossed him around a lot when we were kids – but he needed it. Remind me to tell you about the time he decided he could fly."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Jarrod and Heath rode up to the little house where Ella Grove now lived alone and hitched their horses to the rail out front. They both looked around a bit as they went up to the porch. They both caught sight of a man they did not know on the porch of a house nearby, the same man Heath had seen before. The man was watching them, frowning. They looked around and saw other people in their yards and on their porches, watching, frowning.

"I didn't expect all this attention," Jarrod said quietly, "but I suppose I should have. Word of Mike's conviction probably got around fast."

"A few of the men around here may have thought you did a lousy job," Heath said.

"The women, too," Jarrod said. "Prejudice against the wife in a situation like the Groves' isn't restricted to the men of this world. Women can be hard on other women."

"I wonder if she's gotten other threatening notes," Heath said as they went up to the door.

Jarrod knocked. "That was gonna be the first thing I'll ask about after 'may we come in.'"

The door opened, and Ella appeared. Jarrod and Heath took their hats off, and Jarrod tried a smile. Ella was stone-faced looking at him – but a little less so looking at Heath.

"Ella," Jarrod said. "We wondered if we could have a word with you. May we come in?"

She looked back and forth from Jarrod to Heath, as if she were deciding how to invite Heath in but not Jarrod. She finally opened the door and let them in, noticing her nosy neighbors as she did. She closed the door behind them, saying, "What do you want?"

"We want to know specifically if you're getting any more threats," Jarrod said, "and generally how you're doing. I know yesterday was rough for you."

"Thanks to you," Ella said, and then she relaxed a little, looking at Heath. "I'm sorry, Heath. You've been nothing but kind to me. I don't mean to sound so harsh toward you."

"It's understandable, Ella," Heath said. "You're in a tight spot. Have you gotten any more threats?"

She pointed to three or four pieces of paper on the table beside the sofa. "I found them this morning."

"May I?" Jarrod asked, reaching toward them.

"Go ahead," Ella said.

Jarrod picked them up and read them. More threats that Ella would pay for Mike. "Nobody's come close to bothering you physically yet?" Jarrod asked.

"Not yet," Ella said. "What is it you want? You made it clear after the first note and at the trial that I'm no concern of yours."

"Maybe we've been a little harsh toward you," Heath said.

"To be frank," Jarrod said, "neither one of us is interested in being a replacement for Mike or for Bob Melrose, and I don't have any regrets about how I defended your husband, but like Heath said, you're in a tight spot. We'd both like to help you get out of it."

"What you mean is you'd like to help me get out of town," Ella said.

"If that's what you want," Jarrod said.

"But whether you go or stay is up to you," Heath said.

Ella motioned toward the notes in Jarrod's hand. "It's clear by those that I need to get out."

"Where would you go?" Heath asked.

"I don't know," Ella said. "I've got no place, but if I stay here somebody's liable to kill me."

"I can't guarantee they won't, but I don't think they will," Jarrod said. "Threatening notes are usually intended to drive someone away. They don't usually get followed up on. In a more perfect world, where would you go?"

_Jarrod and his perfect worlds that don't exist_, Heath thought, but Ella said, "Somewhere where there's somebody I can count on. But this is no perfect world, and I don't have anybody I can count on." Then she abruptly leveled an ugly scowl at Jarrod. "Why did you take his case? Why did you get him off? Why didn't you just let him hang?"

"Do you hate him that much?" Jarrod asked.

"Do you think I took any lover before he started cheating on me? He ruined my life, and I don't even get the satisfaction of watching him pay for it."

"Life in prison is a pretty hefty payment," Jarrod said. "It's worse than hanging in a lot of ways."

Ella looked at Heath then, with a softer expression that seemed genuinely vulnerable, and sincere. "In a more perfect world, I'd have found somebody like you, Heath. Somebody who showed me some kindness and didn't betray me."

Heath said just smiled one of his small, lop-sided smiles.

Ella said, "All right, Counselor," turning on Jarrod again, "you want to help me? Help me find someplace to go and give me money to get there."

"I can front you some money," Jarrod said, "and there will be more when you sell this house."

She shook her head. "We rent it. There's not a thing in here I own except my clothes and Mike's, and I'm about to burn Mike's."

"If you had the money, where would you go?" Jarrod asked.

Ella took a deep breath. "San Francisco. Start fresh. Maybe find a job and a decent place to stay that I could afford."

Jarrod nodded, even though he strongly suspected that the environment she was talking about going to wasn't going to help her make a better life. San Francisco for a woman alone carried risks. She might well fall back into affairs, or a bad marriage, but he couldn't fix her life for her. He could only help her get another start, and maybe get it in someplace more refined than a dance hall or a saloon. "I might be able to help you. I know people in San Francisco."

"Then you get to work and line up something for me," Ella said with a snarl. "Maybe then I can put this whole stinking town and this whole stinking life behind me."

"Let me make some contacts," Jarrod said.

Heath said what Jarrod was thinking. "But if you want a different life than this one, you gotta make it."

"I know it," she said. "All people really give you is hard times. I tried to make good ones out of what Mike gave me and it didn't work, but nobody's ever going to do that to me again. I'll make a better life this time."

"Try another way. Try a softer way."

Heath was trying to tell her that cheating on a cheating husband was not the way to make a good life. Ella looked like she understood that. She gave a slight nod.

Jarrod took out his wallet and gave her some money. "This will see you through for a while, and I'll contact some people in San Francisco and line you up a job and a place to stay. After that, Ella, it's up to you."

She took the money and nodded again, saying, "Thanks," very quietly.

Jarrod turned to leave, but Heath stayed where he was. "A minute, Jarrod?" he asked.

Jarrod nodded. "I'll meet you outside."

After Jarrod went out, Heath stood there. Ella shifted awkwardly, looking nothing like a predatory woman who was after whoever she could get. She looked humbled. She looked scared.

"Ella," Heath said, "I wish I could do more for you. In a way, I wish it could be me to help you make that better life, but it can't be. It can't ever be."

"You're a kind man, Heath," Ella said. "In one of your brother's more perfect worlds…". She left it off there.

Heath nodded. "Maybe you can make one."

Ella nodded. "I'll try. Good-bye, Heath."

"Good-bye," Heath said and went out.

Jarrod was standing by the horses. The people who had been out in their yards watching had all disappeared, and he had noticed. Now Heath did too.

"You think they're the ones who wrote the notes?" Heath asked.

"Maybe," Jarrod said.

"You think she's gonna be safe?" Heath asked.

Jarrod nodded. "I think so. I'm gonna start wiring some people I know in San Francisco. With any luck, we can start her on her way in a day or two. I don't know how lucky she'll be, but maybe she'll actually make that better life. We can only hope. How about you? Feeling any better now?"

Heath nodded. "You?"

Jarrod nodded. "And I'll feel better still after I get to work."

"Thanks, Jarrod," Heath said.

"For what?" Jarrod asked. "Helping her?"

Heath nodded. "And for helping me keep my head on straight about her."

"I don't know, Heath. We were kind of heavy handed about it."

"At times, but I appreciated the thought."

Jarrod said, "And I know you probably helped me more than I helped you."

"What?" Heath asked.

"I took Ella for what everyone was saying she was, but that woman in there isn't quite that," Jarrod said, nodding toward the house. "Like everybody else in this world, she's more complicated than people think. I thought about it a lot last night. I didn't know her well enough until you made me look closer and until I had her on the stand and saw she was a woman trying to cope with big problems, maybe not doing it very well but trying. I was as judgmental as those people in church. Maybe you brought out something better in her or something better in me, or maybe both. Anyway, you did me a favor. I appreciate it."

Heath didn't know what to say. He just nodded.

Jarrod said, "And I know you were never really in trouble. If there's one thing I've learned about you already, Brother Heath, it's that you're a kind man but you're no patsy, not even where a beautiful woman is concerned."

Heath gave him a smile and said, "Thanks, Pappy."

They mounted up. Heath wished Jarrod luck, and then while Jarrod headed off to the telegraph office, Heath gave the Grove house one last look, put it behind him, and headed home.

The End


End file.
